The Woman Who Walked into Doors

The Woman Who Walked into Doors

From the Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, the heartrending story of a brave and tenacious housewife

Look for Roddy Doyle's new novel, Smile, coming in October of 2017

Paula Spencer is a thirty-nine-year-old working-class woman struggling to reclaim her dignity after marriage to an abusive husband and a worsening drinking problem. Paula recalls her contented childhood, the audacity she learned as a teenager, the exhilaration of her romance with Charlo, and the marriage to him that left her feeling powerless. Capturing both her vulnerability and her strength, Roddy Doyle gives Paula a voice that is real and unforgettable.

Promotion info

Gritty and moving, The Woman Who Walked Into Doors has been widely described as Roddy Doyle's best work to date.

Reviews

"Roddy Doyle's unsparing examination of a brutal marriage transcends the boundaries of class and nationhood."-"The Times" "Paula Spencer may be Doyle's most successful literary creation yet, a tour de force of literary ventriloquism that gives the lie to the old writing workshop canard that a man can't write from the point of view of a woman, let alone in her voice."-"Washington Post"

Author description

Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin in 1958. His first novel, The Commitments, was published to great acclaim in 1987 and was made into a very successful film by Alan Parker. The Snapper was published in 1990 and has also been made into a film, directed by Stephen Frears. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, which won the Booker Prize in 1993, was the largest-selling winner in the history of the prize and has been published in nineteen languages. His latest novel is the sequel to The Woman Whob Walked Into Doors, Paula Spencer.